Chapter 6: Hn or the Uchiha sidepanel

Summary: In which Itachi learns how much he loves the colour green, while Shisui plots and Fugaku tries to protect that which he loves most.

Otou-san had once again impressed on him the need to show the strength of the Uchiha clan at school, before letting him join the many children waiting in front of the Academy.

Itachi finds out quickly that interacting with Shisui and other teachers from the Uchiha clans – cousins, technically – has in no way prepared him for dealing with children. None of them seem to realise what they are here for. He doesn't understand how. The girls keep talking about their hair, nails and cute boys. Up until now, he had been under the impression that hormones came in at around Shisui's age, as a teenager, not at age 6. The boys are bragging about non-existent skills.

It is baffling.

If you do not know, saying so will mean you get taught how to do it here at the Academy. Why would you pretend you did know? Everyone could see it was a lie and it would not improve their skills.

They were sentencing themselves and their teammates to death.

The Kyubi has destroyed a large part of Konoha and the rebuilding work is still ongoing. Missions have to be completed faster and in quicker succession with less time for respite in between.

Genin are sent out earlier on more dangerous missions as the Academy students can fill the gap in the D-rank missions.

He walks home and looks for his cousin. Shisui had been granted a day off as he had injured himself on the last mission.

It had been a simple courier mission and the attack by simple bandits. Shisui had the Sharingan already and while his cousin would never admit it openly, Itachi is fairly certain that it was intentional. For all that Shisui plays up the role of being a fool for the adults, he is very analytical – and impulsive. Not a great combination in a shinobi.

It means Shisui can analyse the opponent, their attack and trajectory, likely impact of the injury and recuperation period under the new regulation, and then, knowing all this, with the skill and knowledge at hand to avoid each one of their strikes, run right into one so as to be home for Itachi's first day at the Academy.

His suspicions had been further validated by overhearing one of the teammates complain that they had not needed to take the extra detour delaying their return home by a day. Yes, Itachi is fairly certain Shisui had strategized and followed through with his plan all in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes he wishes he'd met Shisui when he was younger; his cousin could've told him to hide his genius and maybe he wouldn't be in the position he was in now.

They have all had to move to the outskirts of the village and there is unrest. The Uchiha helped build the village which is now ostracising them, or at least appears to, from what he has gleaned from overheard family conversations. Spotting a crow flying away from him, Itachi smiles. Shisui will find him momentarily.

Even if he can't understand the other children at school, it is nice to know his cousin will always stand beside him and aid him.

There was a whisper of wind passing him by and then Shisui was there; his command of the body-flicker technique was impressive, but Itachi still frowned at his cousin when the older boy bent over slightly, ruffling his hair, grinning at him mischievously.

"Awww, who's a good boy?" followed by another pat on the head before Shisui stepped back, correctly anticipating his quick swipe at him, merely brushing his clothing instead of managing to reach him.

"Ooh, what's that? Have you been doing speed-training?" Shisui cackled. "You got to get a lot better than this before you can hope to catch me… 'tachi-chan," followed by more wild laughter.

Itachi gave in with a sigh. He had indeed focussed on speed hoping to catch his cousin unaware as their last training session had been a few weeks ago, but this apparently only delighted his cousin more.

There was a consensus among the Uchiha clan that quite apart from his tomfoolery, Shisui was, well, weird. The Uchiha loved deeply and fiercely. Their brain was wired differently to accommodate the memorisation and recall of the Sharingan – which is why the success of the transplant of the Sharingan eye inside the Hatake was such a surprise. There was a reason all their marriage contracts still had a get-out clause in case one of the people involved fell in love. It didn't matter how long the marriage had lasted.

The reason was rather simple; Uchiha loved fiercely and you had to be very foolish indeed to stand between them and their beloved. If the woman they loved was married to another man, then, well, the solution was simple, right? Get rid of him. If the parents were insisting their son marry another woman, well it's the parents who need to go, right? Resolves everything.

So to avoid the scenario where murder was the most expedient way to resolve the issue, there was always a get-out clause.

But since the warring clans era, the sayings about the Uchiha clan had been forgotten; the warnings about when his wife and child were killed, Ren Uchiha had hunted the killer across four lands and the ocean and slaughtered an estimated sixty eight people who attempted to intervene. Including the man's family. And Ren Uchiha had been one of the cleaner revenge stories.

This was why the Uchiha clan guarded themselves fiercely. If you didn't reach out and connect with someone outside the clan, you were unlikely to fall irrevocably in love. And they didn't understand; for them it may only be a fling or passing fancy. They didn't understand that for as far back as their history reached, no Uchiha had ever fallen out of love. With anyone. Ever.

While some only ever loved one person, others loved many. Family was a common fixation; Itachi had known Sasuke would always be closest to his heart since the day he first laid eyes on his newly born baby brother.

He could still hear Shisui call him a shrivelled potato and if his cousin's eyes hadn't been fixed on the new-born babe with the same amazement Itachi felt, he was certain he would have retaliated… not that he was entirely wrong, of course, but still, no one spoke badly of Sasuke in his vicinity. It was the principle of the matter.

Itachi suspects he's Shisui's person. His cousin's closest family members have passed on already and his teammate died at the end of the 3rd war.

"Shisui," Itachi sighed exasperatedly at his cousin's cackling, trying in vain to suppress his twitching lips.

"So make any widdle friends?" Shisui's voice is full of laughter but his eyes are assessing him seriously, gauging his response.

"Hn."

"Ooh, trying to Uchiha me, 'tachi-chan? I'll have you know I Uchiha'd before you were even a twinkle in your parent's eyes, little cousin," Shisui mocked, lips curved up in a playful grin as they made their way to the Uchiha training grounds at the back of their new compound.

"Shisui-chan, you haven't Uchiha'd a day in your life," if Mikoto hadn't been so strict when raising him, Itachi would've rolled his eyes at his friends antics. Alas, some parenting techniques apparently ran deeper than he'd anticipated.

Shisui clasped his hand over his heart in fake horror, eyes wide as he faced Itachi, walking backwards in order to deliver the full impact of his dramatics. Itachi sighed internally. He knew he shouldn't have engaged with his cousin.

"Was that sass? Is my tiny baby-faced cousin sassing me? Oh no, woe is me, what horrors will Mikoto visit upon me for corrupting her little baby," a fake sniff and a real tear running down his face – Itachi raised his eyebrows, impressed in spite of himself, "I will have to run away, flee the clan and Konoha, run to the ends of the world and she will still find me. I shall not rest nor-"

"Shisui," Itachi interrupted again, before his cousin could get too absorbed into his histrionics – albeit surprisingly well-done dramatics. "thank you," he added softly, with a glance at the bandage encircling his cousin's thigh.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Shisui had moved beside him again in a flash, arm slung around his shoulders and tucking him in against the older boy's chest. "But if I did," he continued in whisper, cheek resting against his head, "I would tell you were worth any amount of pain."

Yes, definitely one of Shisui's persons, Itachi thought to himself with a slight blush on his cheeks. Despite that, he stepped slightly closer, enjoying the positive physical affection and comfort he so rarely got at home. Itachi never noticed the grim tug on Shisui's lips, the hard set in his shoulders and ice in his eyes when he looked at how his little cousin soaked up the attention.

Genius and prodigy, but never praised only ever held to a higher and higher standard. And if Itachi had to break himself to achieve it, he would. Well, not on Shisui's watch.

And he would be watching.

Upon returning from his latest mission, Shisui was informed that Itachi had done just as he had dreaded he would – his little cousin was promoted to the final year of the Academy.

Fuck.

He had really hoped he'd be able to prevent this, but he'd known that Itachi never resisted his parents – especially no since Sasuke was born. The little baby was an easy tool for manipulating the young genius; and his parents had both done far worse for less. It wasn't overt, oh no, they wouldn't give Itachi the open tools for rebellion. But if he complied, Itachi got uninterrupted time with little Sasuke whereas he would otherwise be called away for more training; simple yet effective.

And now his little cousin would be graduating in a matter of months rather than years. His missions were still, unfortunately, back to back so downtime was rather hard to come by, but he had three hours before he had to be back at the Konoha Gates for the next mission.

Enough time to hunt down his little cousin and make him smile, blush and ruffle his hair at least. Maybe he could squeak in a hug. The dango shop was still rebuilding, otherwise he would've gotten some for Itachi – the tiny child was adorable when he guarded his Dango sticks viciously, cheeks full like a chipmunk. It was one of the few times his friend allowed himself to be a child. So, so adorable; Shisui would gladly kill so long as Konoha permitted his younger cousin to behave like that for just a little bit longer.

Itachi stood uncertainly by the gates of the Academy yard. Shisui had left him with the rather clear instruction that he had better reach out to one non-Uchiha person at school or face his pranks.

Yeah, no. Itachi had no intention of being yet another victim to Shisui's pranks. Not if he could help it. Reaching out shouldn't be so hard, right?

He had overheard talk of another child – a girl – being promoted to the class just under his. Maybe… Maybe she would understand better?

The kids in last year were the same as had been in his first-year class, only amplified. The girls were even more zealous, some had even followed him. He had kawarimi'd and escaped; their stealth skills were less than most civilians he'd encountered. It was unnerving – one, because he may be put on a team with one of them and secondly, because they had no kunoichi or shinobi skills that he could discern. How would they survive?

And maybe the other genius would see what he saw? Maybe they could even explain it to him, because he really didn't understand how this had come to pass and how they had passed previous years despite being clearly inept.

Finally, his eyes zeroed in on the girl. Her classmates had talked about her and they'd described her rather well, luckily.

Were it not for her eyes, she could be an Uchiha. Her hair was pitch black, chin length and messy – but he suspected naturally so. Sasuke's hair was growing in and it looked similar. But her eyes – they were so vibrant. The same way the Sharingan appeared to glow, so did her eyes, only green like the most vibrant grass, trees and nature surrounding them.

Her eyes were beautiful. Itachi loved them, they were so vibrant and expressive.

She bowed to him and looked like she was about to leave. He hadn't meant to chase her away, he was trying to get to know her.

Don't startle her, be gentle, like with Sasuke, cautious, clear movements.

Itachi shook his head gently. "No. I wanted to introduce myself."

There, well done. Now maybe he should be clearer.

"You were put in an upper class as well."

I would like to commiserate with you over the calibre of the people we are surrounded by.

"I am Uchiha Itachi."

I am the heir, I did not really get a choice. What about you? Did you intend to jump grades? Were you pressured as well? Why would anyone agree to jump grades?

The girl was stiff and small; but not just small, thin, like a stiff breeze could blow her over. He half-expected she would not weigh much more than his baby cousin even though she was Itachi's age.

"Ah, pleasure to meet you too, Uchiha-san."

Ah, he'd put her off with his clan's name. Now, how to fix it. He did not wish to be pranked by Shisui; and his cousin would be able to tell if he hadn't tried his best.

"Thank you for introducing yourself. Would you like to share lunch with me and we can exchange our views on the educational system? What class did they put you in?"

Shisui always said the best policy is to open up first; talk about something you loved. The girl – who still had not yet offered her name, rude! – was formal, distant and stiff; and a comrade. But still, although Sasuke was his weakness, he was well protected and not unexpected – family members were often identified as a shinobi's weakness. Therefore, talking about his younger brother should help her relax, open up and wouldn't put Sasuke in more danger than he was already in.

Relaxing himself slightly, he indulged himself in sharing the antics of his adorable younger sibling and was slightly startled when he found himself interrupted by the bell. Reprimanding himself internally for not paying enough attention to be aware of the passing of time, he thanked the girl for sharing her lunchtime with him.

Tomorrow he would find out her name.

Fugaku sighed and rubbed his eyes in exhaustion as he turned off the lights in his office and activated the seals to protect the office and its confidential files. Minato had…

It was hard; the blonde Yondaime had perished just over half a year ago, but he still missed him. Minato had intended to change Konoha, make it flourish. Fugaku had believed in him, believed in the changes he had wanted to make.

Now, everyone was caught on the backfoot and Konoha had only regressed, if anything.

Minato had created an impressive array of seal networks across the Police building; luckily it had remained standing under the Kyubi's assault.

Time to go home to his sons and his wife. He missed Mikoto. And he missed the battlefield – life had been easier when it was reduced to live or die.

Now he had cases before him such as the little girl who had been pushed up the ranks at the Academy. Her teacher had given her a talking-to to set her back on the straight and narrow, but was duty-bound to report it when a student sabotaged or falsified their skills.

They could either be excellent candidates for ANBU or other departments or spies or simply ill-advised children. Shisui had been much fought over, but Fugaku and his mother, who had still been alive then, had blocked their attempts to snatch the young boy from the Academy. They hadn't wanted him to graduate too young.

It was practically blasphemy that this was exactly the same thing he was forcing on his son, but his hands were tied. Shisui had been part of the clan, but no matter how skilled and talented his father, Kagami, had been, they all knew he had been a little bit of an odd duck. Just like his boy.

But Itachi was the heir, the next clan head. There had never been the option for him just by virtue of the family he was born into. Fugaku could still block departments from snatching his son up – he needed to be in the public eye, a liaison for the clan of sorts when doing missions. At least that he could argue to the clan.

He dreaded what would happen if the last Hatake became a well-known ANBU; there were already whispers of his prowess. If he performed too well, the clan would insist on Itachi joining ANBU and upstaging him, showing off the skill of the clan.

Fugaku had avoided it for now, he did not know how long this stalemate could last.

He needed to push Itachi harder, faster, to make sure he wouldn't crumble or die. Even if that meant his own son grew to hate him. Better hated and alive than loved and dead. Not his firstborn son, his precious little boy.

It was one of the things few people knew, even within the clan, about the Uchiha. They were driven to do desperate, despicable things to protect the ones they loved; but they would also do this to the ones they loved above all in the name of protecting them.

So, when at dinner Itachi for the first time told them of reaching out to someone not part of the clan, he both dreaded it and was proud. Kushina and Minato had been the best friends of him and Mikoto, after all.

Only then Itachi described her and Fugaku realised his son was talking about the Kara-girl, the orphan who had also skipped grades and had turned out to be hiding her skills.

If she turned out to be sent there to spy on clans or Konoha, a friendship with her would reflect badly on Itachi and by extension the clan.

On the other hand, if she was merely an innocent girl, she was either unaware of the reality of her job choice or could potentially convince Itachi of similar reasoning.

Whereas it was permissible for Shisui to play the fool, if Itachi engaged in any kind of subterfuge against his superiors, this would have far-reaching negative consequences for the entire clan due to his status as clan heir.

Even worse, Itachi had actually been momentarily distracted from feeding his baby brother as he recalled and described her eyes; this could turn into an infatuation and, unfortunately for his son, he could not look outwith the clan. But as every clan member, young and old, knew, you could not stop an Uchiha from falling in love any more than you could bid the sun not to shine.

…

But you could separate them before Itachi could get to know her; for Amaterasu's sake, his son didn't even know her name.

And he'd make sure she would not be offered anymore early graduation opportunities – as an orphan it was easy to quash without drawing any unnecessary attention to himself. His son would be either already a chunin or well on his way there when she would just be graduating. Maybe he could also ensure she'd end up in the corps? Stop future encounters before they could occur?

The Uchiha clan's welfare took precedence over the good of one child.

"Son," Fugaku mourned internally as he watched his son stiffen to attention, eyes growing dark and bracing himself for what he clearly expected was a reprimand. He wasn't entirely wrong, either. "You will not have any further contact with the girl. Get to know the people in your class but not that girl."

There was the slightest pause – not much of one, but certainly more hesitation than Itachi usually showed when faced with any orders not concerning Sasuke or Shisui.

"As you command, otou-san," his son intoned, giving him a bow from his still seated position, before returning his attention to his younger brother.

Good. Another disaster averted. But it looked like he'd have another long night at the office. Despite the heartache, he cherished these small intermissions where he could come home and ascertain that both his sons and his wife were well.

Konoha demanded much, but the Uchiha had never faltered in obeying. Neither Fugaku nor his son would be the first ones to falter. Once the crisis was over, Sarutobi-sama would appoint another Hokage to take the hat and he was certain, he could make sure his clan was in a good position by then to liaise with them. The Uchiha were part of Konoha after all, and had lived and died to protect it. They had earned that recognition and didn't deserve the scorn they were increasingly greeted with.

Minato had died, but Fugaku would make sure that not all their plans would die with them, irrespective of whoever would be the Godaime.

Even if Hiashi-teme was the next one, that's how resolved he was. And no, Mikoto, calling him -teme is not childish, it's just who he is.

Author's Notes:

Hi All, you should know that I am taking votes for the final pairing; options are Calla with either Kakashi (she will be at least 15 before they even meet and will take years for the romance, so no underage squickiness); or with Itachi or Shisui. The poll is on my profile page :)

I love them all and can't decide, so open to popular vote :)

Please review and let me know what you think. I haven't written in a long time and trying my hand at it again. Feedback always welcome :)